New laws that aim to stop the UK being a magnet for money launderers – by forcing the owners of properties to reveal their identities – should be applied retrospectively, leading anti-corruption organisations whose work has strongly influenced the government are saying.
Transparency International and Global Witness say only tough new anti-laundering measures will help the UK to clean up its act. The organisations’ revelation that large chunks of London’s prime properties are now owned by trusts in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands prompted David Cameron to warn that the UK “must not become a safe haven for corrupt money from around the world”.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says it wants to see 'minimum competency' requirements for sales and letting agents to handle anti-money laundering issues, regulated by the industry itself.